The Disaster Artist

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: James Franco

Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Jason Mantzoukas, Hannibal Buress, Josh Hutcherson, Zoey Deutch, Melanie Griffith  and Bryan Cranston.

Rating: Excellent.

Academy Award Actor Nominee James Franco brings “The Disaster Artist” a film that not only he starred on it but he directed and I was very impressed with the result of this film.

Based on the novel “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Film Ever Made” by Greg Sestero and in true events tells the story and friendship of Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) a young aspiring actor from San Francisco who meets Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class.

Both their lives will change forever and they embark in journey to Los Angeles on taking the next step on their respective acting careers.

After suffering multiple rejections from everyone in Hollywood, both Greg and Tommy decide to make their own movie: The Room.

Eventually this movie would become the worst in film history but years later would become an iconic film and considered a cult hit.

I start by saying that I didn´t know anything about “The Disaster Artist” before I watched. This is the main reason why I enjoyed this film.

I didn´t know who Tommy Wiseau was until I saw this film. I read a little about him before but it never crossed my mind that he made one of the worst movies in film history.

Now that I have seen “The Disaster Artist” I am more curious on seeing “The Room”. I know that it should have been better to watch before Tommy Wiseau´s film but still “The Disaster Artist” is an enjoyable film.

James Franco´s performance as Tommy Wiseau is impressive and he took it to the next level. I was surprised by Franco`s directing as well since this type of movies have the tendency to have a longer length but here was completely different.

I liked the fact that Franco knew how to get the best out of his cast and every single one of them delivered very good performances. I was surprised with Dave Franco who did a very good job on portraying Greg Sestero. He was convincing, truthful and if he continues to go to this path he is going to become one of the greastest actors of his generation.

The screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who´s work consists in movies like “500 Days of Summer” and “The Spectacular Now” adapted a brilliant screenplay with rich great characters and made it as real as possible.

I liked the fact of how the movie industry is portrayed and how hard it is to get a break in Hollywod. The way how the rejection is portrayed is completely real and I liked how this movie mocks about the industry how we know it today.

Maybe the only factor that I felt that it wasn´t needed was the introduction of the movie. I would have liked to know less before watching but I understand why it needed to be there and I admit that it does work.

The score that features music from the eighties and nineties is really good and if you haven´t watched this film stay until the final credits since you will get a big surprise.

This film has been receiving nominated for Golden Globe Awards, Film Independent Spirit Awards and hopefully for Academy Awards every single one of them for James Franco and I hope the film gets more nominations for the Oscars as well.

“The Disaster Artist” is one movie you cannot miss, specially if you are the industry. And if you aren´t I can guarantee that you are going to enjoy it as well. 

Wonder Wheel

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Woody Allen

Cast: Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple, Steve Schirripa, Tony Sirico, Max Casella, David Krumholtz, Debi Mazar, Jack Gore and Jim Belushi.

Rating: Poor.

Academy Award Winning writer/director Woody Allen brings as usual another movie this year and he does it with “Wonder Wheel” and frankly I was very dissapointed.

The movie takes place in the summer during the 50`s in Coney Island, and tells the story of Ginny (Kate Winslet) a former actress, now waitress who lives with her husband Humpty (Jim Belushi) a carrousel operator and his son who has an obsession with fires Richie (Jack Gore).

Everything will change for Ginny when she meets Mickey Rubin (Justin Timberlake) an aspiring writer who works as a lifeguard. She begins to have an affair with him and will be in love.

The problem will rise when Humpty`s estranged daughter Carolina (Juno Temple) shows up in their lives again.

Not only this represents a problem for Ginny but when Mickey meets Carolina, she will have her eyes on him as well.

Now Ginny will have to think carefully about her choices that eventually can have a serious repercution in her life.

The reason why I mentioned that “Wonder Wheel” was a big dissapointment was about the story.

It had a very interesting first act but everything went down to the drain when the second act of the film started.

Nothing made any sense and I was very surprised since I have mentioned for many years that Woody Allen is a master in telling this type of stories that involve love triangles and he is the master on this.

This time he failed badly and the turns that he took on the characters on this film where not convincing and I felt that I was watching a soap opera.

I felt that he wanted to go to his old roots with movies like “Annie Hall” where he used the fourth wall but it didn´t work and this film is not even close.

Kate Winslet`s performance was good but again one actor cannot save an entire project and this proves my point.

Justin Timberlake and Jim Belushi were ok in their respective roles but nothing extraordinary.

There were a lot continuity issues with this film specially cinematography wise. I was very surprised since Vittorio Storaro since he worked with Woody Allen in last year´s “Café Society” and there were a lot of issues here. Some of the shots didn`t make any sense and it made me feel very uncomfortable.

The ending of the film was completely useless and it didn´t make any sense at all. 

 have always liked Woody Allen`s films but here I was not happy with the result and hopefully his next film is better.

“Wonder Wheel” is one big dissapointment and I cannot recommend it.

Coco

By Emilio Frenk 

Directors: Lee Unkrich and Adrián Molina

Cast (Voice): Anthony González, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renee Victor, Jaime Camil, Alfonso Arau, Gabriel Iglesias, Herbert Sigüenza, Edward James Olmos, Selene Luna and Cheech Marin.

Rating: Excellent.

Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios bring another animated movie this year with “Coco” and I was very pleased with this film.

The movie tells the story of Miguel (Anthony González) a boy who works with his family in a shoemaking family business who dreams of being a musician.

The problem is that the family doesn´t like music and therefore they forbid Miguel in becoming a musician.

Miguel´s desire of becoming a musician grows and embarks in a journey to the Land of the Dead where he will meet former musician Héctor Rivera (Gael García Bernal).

Both of them will form a unique friendship that will change the course of their lives forever and will answer the questions for Miguel´s in terms of the origins of his family and his ban on music.

One of the things that I enjoyed of “Coco” was the originality of the story. As someone who grew up in Mexico I have to say that the movie is very accurate.

I loved the fact that this if the first time that we see how is the holiday of Day of the Dead in Mexico and it was very true.

I could tell that Adrián Molina and Matthew Aldrich did a lot of research in regards of the theme and it did payoff.

The script that they both wrote was filled with original characters and told us another perspective in regards to a Mexican Holiday.

The message of this film on never giving up in your dreams and the solidarity in regards of family is very powerful is very good.

The animation and the production value of this film is really impressive and I think that thanks to “Coco” people will want to go to visit Mexico specially in a day like Day of the Dead.

I am very happy that Disney and Pixar did a movie about a holiday that is not american and took it to the next level.

Lee Unkrich who directed "Toy Story 3" once again did a remarkable job in directing a fantastic and memorable film that will live in ages and people will be talking about it for a long time. 

Anthony González as Miguel is very good, so as Gael García Bernal as Héctor and the rest who gave their voices to characters who you root for them from beggining to end.

The colors of the film, the voiceovers were phenomenal and I did really enjoyed this

I have to admit that I was very hesitant at first but when the movie started it was a totally different story and I was very happy with the result.

This movie already has been nominated for “Critics´s Choice Awards”, “Golden Globe” and most likely is going to receive an Academy Award Nomination and most likely win it.

Disney and Pixar not only are known for bringing to life compelling and original stories, but also in terms of music are masters and here was not the exception. The score of “Coco” was fantastic and I think you will be whistling a tune in one of the songs in this film either in the future or if you haven`t seen it once you leave the theater.

“Coco” is one of the year´s best films and I highly recommend it for it´s story, message and great filmmaking.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Dan Gilroy

Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, Amari Cheatom, DeRon Horton, Amanda Warren, Nazneen Contractor, Niles Fitch, Hugo Armstrong and Jocelyn Ayanna.

Rating: Poor.

Dan Gilroy, writer/director of 2014´s “Nighcrawler” brings “Roman J. Israel, Esq”, his second feature film and unfortunately the results weren´t satisfying.

The movie tells the story of Roman J. Israel, Esq (Denzel Washington) a idealistic defense attorney who works in a small law firm in Los Angeles.

One day he is fired from his job and is hired to work with George Pierce (Colin Farrell) in a bigger law firm.

Everywhere he goes Roman carries a briefcase of a big case that he has been working for years in regards of chancing the current justice system.

Eventually Roman will have an existential crisis that will lead him to make a series of choices that eventually will have a serious repercution.

Now Roman will have to be careful on making the correct choices before he does some damage to himself and others.

“Roman J. Israel, Esq” is a movie that had a very promising beginning but everything wend downhill from the half of the second act to the end of the film.

It´s a shame since I really loved “Nightcrawler”, which I considered one of 2014´s best films and I loved the approach that Dan Gilroy took in that film.

For that reason I was having a huge expectation that “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” should have been a better movie.

The major problem like I mentioned was the screenplay itself. I felt the movie was too long and there were moments that I didn´t feel for any of the characters and the movie was excessively slow.

I felt that the movie if not only the story would have been condensed, I think we would be talking right now of another product.

On the positive side the performance of Denzel Washington is remarkable as always. He´s approach on playing a characters with a lot of emptiness was really good and the way how he transformed to give life to Roman J. Israel, Esq was impressive.

The score and the editing of the film were very good. I liked the mood of the picture and that is one thing that really works.

Unfortunately this are not elements that I can put to recommend a film of this caliber and I hope that Dan Gilroy learned his lesson. I think that he is one brillian filmmaker and did a remarkable job with his first film but not here.

If you want to see a good performance of Denzel Washington go and see this film but if you want to see it for other reasons I think you are going to be dissapointed.

Wonder

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Stephen Chbosky

Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Izabela Vidovic, Daveed Diggs, Noah Jupe, Danielle Rose Russell, Nadji Jeter, Bryce Gheisar, Sonia Braga and Mandy Patinkin.

Rating: Excellent.

Stephen Chbosky, writer/director of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” brings his second feature film “Wonder” his second film and one the year´s biggest surprises.

Based on the New York Times best selling novel by R.J. Palacio the movie tells the story of August “Auggie” Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) a boy with a rare medical facial deformity who has the unconditional love and support of his parents Isabel (Julia Roberts), Nate (Owen Wilson) and his older sister Olivia “Via” (Izabela Vidovic).

Auggie decides to attend a mainstream elementary school for the first time and he will be a huge example for other kids and will become one of the most popular ones.

This is a story of kindness, love, respect and acceptance to others no matter what their conditions are.  

One of the things that made me enjoyed “Wonder” was the originality of the story and that it focused in a boy with a physical problem but a very charismatic one.

In a certain way this flim reminded me of Peter Bogdanovich´s “Mask” from 1985 due to it´s similarites but of course it´s very different.

Stephen Chbosky directing and writing was very good in this film and he directed his cast in a brilliant way.

The other factor that was very smart in Chbosky´s filmaking was the fact that he told the esseencial elements for this story and was not involved in over explaining elements.

In fact the way that the voiceover in this film was used, worked at all times and it has to be when you´re character is not present and not telling exactly what is going to happen.

Jacob Tremblay again is very good in this film as Auggie. He is by far one of the most talented kids in this industry since he´s breakthrough performance in 2015´s “Room”.

Julia Roberts is really good in this film, Owen Wilson is fantastic and this indeed is a very enjoyable movie.

I hope parents see this film with their children and show them that is a statement of being kind with other people.

Other thing that is very important and shows it in the film are the consequences of bullying in school and hopefully kids will learn a lesson when they watch “Wonder”.

I was very moved from beginning to end and made me cry by moments since it´s a very sweet and tender movie.

Hopefully we can see movie like this one with a powrful message and can serve as an influence to others as well of creating a conscience to the following generation of children and adults.

“Wonder” is one of the year´s best film and I hope that parents will see it with their children.

Justice League

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, Ciaràn Hinds, Jeremy Irons and J.K. Simmons.

Rating: Average.

Zack Snyder, director of the latest installments of the DC Comics franchise brings “Justice League” and the movie was entertaining but still with many flaws.

The movie centers in Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman (Ben Affleck) who has a restored faith in humanity due to Superman`s heroic act in “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice”.

In Paris Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) begins to feel a strange presence of a more dangerous enemy in the form of Steppenwolf (Ciàran Hinds) Bruce Wayne begins to feel the same presence and decides to reunite with Prince.

Both of them will put together a team of superhéroes to defeat this threat. The team will be formed by: Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Barry Allen AKA The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Victor Stone AKA Cyborg (Ray Fisher).

Together they will form The Justice League and will face Steppenwolf and his army of aliens who want to conquer the earth at all costs. This will be the more dangerous task the superheroes will face and will determine the fath of humanity as we know it.

When I first saw the marketing of this film I thought that it was going to be a mess of a film due to the previous disasters of the DC Comics franchise in movies like “Man of Steel”, “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad”.

This movie was entertaining and in that territory it did made it´s mark. In terms of storyline there was a slight improvement and this was becasue Joss Wedon, who directed both installments of “The Avengers” movies were succesful and I could see were the direction of DC Comics was heading.

Other factor was that Wedon directed most of the movie even tough he was uncredited since Zack Snyder suffered the lost of his daughter this year.

The movie in terms of storyline went very fast and I didn´t see any obstacles in the characters in reaching their goals. I still believe that more time should have been invested in terms of story.

This is one of the reasons why “Wonder Woman” really worked this year. Not only it was a fantastic production but there was a solid storyline and for this kind of movies not only has to be focused production wise.

Gal Gadot was really good in this film and I might say it´s the only thing I cherished. The climatic battle when Superman appears I understand why it needed to be there but I was not convinced in why it should have been in this movie. I would have put him in the second part of this installment and I believe that the result it could have been better.

I admit there was an improvement but still the plot is really bad in this film and I think that DC Comics if they want to be in track like they were back with films like “The Dark Knight” they have to invest more in story, otherwise they will be heading in the same direction of failure.

Like I mentioned before this movie did deliver the goods in terms of being very entertaining and it did serve it`s purpose but that is preety much it.

The action sequences and the visuals are really well made and they are enjoyable at all terms. This is another factor that made the movie enjoyable. 

With that being said if you want to be entertained watch this movie. If you are expecting a masterpiece don´t bother since it´s not even close.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Martin McDonagh

Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, Lucas Hedges, Abbie Cornish, Samara Weaving, Caleb Landry Jones, Zeljko Ivanek, Clarke Peters, Amanda Warren, Kerry Condon and Peter Dinklage.

Rating: Excellent.

Martin McDonagh, writer/director of “In Bruges” and “Seven Psycopaths”  brings “Three Bilboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and again McDonagh delivers.

The movie tells the story of Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) a divorced mother who recently suffered the lost of their child Angela, who was raped and murdered.

Mildred´s anger grows and she expresses it through three billboards that shows the incompetence of the Police Department.

This will draw the attention of Sherriff Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) and Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) who were in charger of the investigaction that led to the failure on catching Angela´s culprit.

Mildred will receive threats and warning but she still resists and will defy the Police Department. Now she is more determined on taking the law on her hands and catching her daughter´s killer.

The element that made “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was the originality of the story and the way how Martin McDonagh told it from Mildred´s point of view.

The screenplay by McDonagh was very original, powerful and full with very rich characters that you both cheer and hate at the same time.

In this film you see a lot of the humor from McDonagh´s previous films and at the same time you characters who are filled with anger, resentment and self guilt.  

His direction is amazing not only visually but in terms of performance he knew how to get the best of his cast.

Frances McDormand as always she is amazing in this film and I would not be surprised to see her score an Academy Award Nomination in next year´s awards.

Other performance that I consider astonishing was Sam Rockwell who not only played a character that you hate in the film but has one of the most unexpected twists in the film.

The way how McDonagh mixed both the comedy and drama in this film works at all levels and he is one of the masters of mixing both dramas, which is very complicacted, specially when you are dealing with very complex characters.

The only problem that I saw in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” might be the ending.

I was expecting it to be more hard blowing but at the same I understood McDonagh´s approach.

I understand that it is very important to have your characters that have twists and here McDonagh did it very well.

Other than the ending of the film I was very pleased and Martin McDonagh directed his third film and made it even better than his previous two films.

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” is one of the year´s best films and I highly recommend it for the performances and Martin McDonagh´s screenplay and direction.

Murder On The Orient Express

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr, Michelle Pfeiffer, Manuel García-Rulfo, Marwan Kenzari, Daisy Ridley, Olivia Colman, Tom Bateman, Sergei Polunin, Lucy Boynton  and Johnny Depp.

Rating: Good.

Actor/Director Kenneth Branagh brings his 16th film as a director with “Murder on the Orient Express” a remake of the 1974 film directed by Sidney Lumet and this in a certain way was an interesting approach.

Based on the novel of the same name by Agatha Christie the movie centers in Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) a detective from Belgium who´s reputation is very high and has the ability to resolve the most complicated cases.

In his way to London to resolve the case he is invited to aboard the train Orient Express by it´s director Bouc (Tom Bateman). Poirot will be in the train from Istanbul to it´s final destination in a matter of three days.

In the train he will meet illoustrous characters that consist in an American Tourist named Caroline Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), An  Aristocrat Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench),The Physician Doctor Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom Jr.), The Governess Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley), The Assistant Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), The Missionary Pilar Estravados (Penélope Cruz), The Maid Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), The Valet Masterman (Derek Jacobi), The Professor Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), The Dancer Count Andrenyi (Sergei Polunin), An Addict Countess Andrenyi (Lucy Boynton), A Businessman Biniamino Márquez (Manuel García-Rulfo), The Attendant Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari) and The Fugitive Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp).

One night during the trip a murder occurs and it happens to be Ratchett who ends up being killed.

Now Poirot must resolve the case where every single one of the passengers is a prime suspect.

Poirot will be in the race against time where not only he most resolve the case and delivered it to the Turkish authorities, but his reputation will be at stake.

I have mentioned in this space that I am not a fan of remakes, specially of movies that are considered classics. Here it can be an exception and “Murder in the Orient Express” is a very well made remake in terms of filmmaking.

The production design by Jim Clay who has worked in movies like “Children of Men” and “Match Point” was very precise. The way how he illustrated the interiors of the train were very sharp and The Costume Design was very good as well.

The Cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos who worked with Branagh in films like “Cinderella” and “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” was very good. The way how he used his lighting and the shots that were in this picture were beautifully made. Branagh did a very good job in the looks of the film but the main problema was story wise.

The screenplay by Michael Green had too many flaws and I believe that it had to much backstory.

I was surprised about this since Green wrote two incredible movies like “Logan” and “Blade Runner 2049” where he wrote very interesting characters and specially with a lot of conflict that made us an audience to root for them at all times.

The beauty of Sidney Lumet`s versión was the fact that you knew from the beginning what was going on and there wasn´t any backstory in the film until the main catharsis of the film.

Here I think that it wasn´t necessary to illustrate how good Hercule Poirot is and that he likes boiled eggs in the film. Honestly I didn´t care about that and this is one of the major flaws of the film.

I would have put Poirot going straight to the case and then the introduction of the characters in the train.

I felt the movie was too slow and it´s length was shorter than Lumet´s versión. This however was not the case and it made the movie very predictable.

It´s very difficult to make a remake of a movie that is considered a classic and this proves my point.

Branagh didn´t get the best out of his cast and the performances were very weak. I am very surprised since Branagh is a director who normally gets the best out of his cast and deliver good performances. I believe that he was more focused on the looks of the film than performance and this was the result of it.

I enjoyed “Murder on the Orient Express” but I liked the version of 1974 better. I give this version a marginal recommendation due to the screenplay of the film. If you want to see a beautifully shot film I think you will enjoy it and will have a great time.

Daddy´s Home 2

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Sean Anders

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardelinni, Alessandra Ambrosio, Owen Vaccaro, Scarlett Estevez, Didi Costine, John Cena, John Lithgow and Mel Gibson.

Rating: Poor.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reunite with writer/director Sean Anders in “Daddy´s Home 2”, the second part of 2015´s comedy hit but in this ocassion the results are even more dissapointing.

The movie again centers in Brad  Whitaker (Will Ferrell) who is still happilly married with Sara (Linda Cardelinni) and his friendship with Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg), the biological father of Brad´s stepsons Dylan (Owen Vaccaro) and Megan (Scarlett Estevez).

Both Brad and Dusty are planning Christmas together until they both receive surprising calls from Dusty´s father Kurt (Mel Gibson) and Brad´s father Don (John Lithgow). Now Brad and Dusty are in a huge dilemma on what to do with their intrusive dad´s.

Both Kurt and Don will join both Brad and Dusty´s family in which will become and unforgettable christmas.

One of the things that I am going to start with is with the fact that this movie doesn´t  work and there is only one momento that is laughable in the film.

The first “Daddy´s Home” was an enjoyable film but yes it was bad as well. This film however is atrocious and the problem  is that you have actors of the caliber of Mel Gibson and John Lithgow who were useless in this movie. And it´s a shame because they could have delivered a big contribution in this film but it was not the case due to the poor screenplay that it was involved. 

The screenplay was awful at all times and was written poorly by Sean Anders, who joined with John Morris.

The dialogue in this film was on the nose and from the moment the film started to the end it was preety obvious what the resolution of the film was going to be.

The trailers of the film were much funnier than the movie itself and like I mentioned before there was only a good moment of laughter of the whole film.

There are limits in the comedy genre but this one went to far in terms of being predictable. I didn´t see a good chemistry between all the characters in this film and had very por dialogue.

I understand that is the holiday season now but the filmmakers could have done a better effort in delivering a decent product.

“Daddy´s Home 2” is one of the worst films of 2017 and I cannot recommend it for any reason. If you saw the first film stick to that and do not waste both your time and your money for this film that is useless.

Lady Bird

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Greta Gerwig

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Beanie Feldstein, Jordan Rodrigues, Lucas Hedges, Odeya Rush, Kathryn Newton, Louis Smith, Jake McDorman, Laura Marana, Timothée Chalamet and Tracy Letts.

Rating: Excellent.

Actress Greta Gerwig makes her  feature film debut as both writer and director with “Lady Bird” and I was very pleased with this film.

The movie takes place in Sacramento, California and tells the story of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) a free spirited high school girl that is pursuing colleges.

Lady Bird´s desire is to get out of Sacramento and try New York. The problem is that her mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf) wants her to stay in California while his father Larry (Tracy Letts) encourages her constantly to pursue her dreams against Marion´s wishes. 

Now Lady Bird will do anything in order to get into college, that means even to pump up her grades, that are low and go to New York to pursuit her dream.

Greta Gerwig directed a very unique movie with “Lady Bird” and the results speak for itself. She directed an A list cast that delivered incredible performances.

The screenplay also written by Gerwig was written in a very unique detail and I like the fact that illustrates a part of Sacramento that we didn´t know. That of course has to do with the fact that Gerwig grew up in there and knows that world very well.

The characters in this film were very unique and you identify with every single one of them from the minute the movie starts to the end.

Saoirse Ronan is very good in this movie and gives an outstanding performance. Laurie Metclaf is very good as well as the possessive mother but at the same time caring in this film.

This movie works at all levels and Gerwig´s hard work did pay off and it´s a movie that makes you smile every moment.

Also is a movie about the true meaning of friendship and family, which are very important values in this society and I love the fact how this movie shows this and does it in a very unique matter.

When I saw this film I didn´t know what it was going to be about and that´s another factor that made me enjoy it even more.

Greta Gerwig´s direction was outstanding. She directed her actors impeccably and the camera work, score and editing were very good. Hopefully we can still see her more behind the camera in the future.

“Lady Bird” is one of the year´s best films and I highly recommend it for the screenplay, performances and theme.

Last Flag Flying

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Richard Linklater

Cast: Steve Carrell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, J. Quinton Johnson, Deanna Reed-Foster, Yul Vazquez, Grahame Wolfe and Jeff Monahan.

Rating: Excellent.

Academy Award Director Nominee Richard Linklater, brings “Last Flag Flying” a both drama and comedy that brings outstanding results.

The movie tells the story of Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carrell) a former Vietnam marine who re-unites with his friends Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and The Reverend Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) also former marines.

Doc  shares them the news that his son got killed in action in Iraq and asks them to bury the body in his hometown in New Hampshire.

The one who is all the way with Doc is Sal but the one who is resilient with the idea is the Reverend but at the end he agrees on going with the three of them.

Together will form an unique bond that will show the true meaning of friendship and to cherish every single moment in life as long as you have it.

Richard Linklater has been known for all his career to take on the most vulnerable side of human beings in every single one of his movies. Here with “Last Flag Flying” was not the exception.

Even though you might think is a drama but the movie has a lot of touches in comedy and reminds me of the humor that were from the days of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in movies like “The Odd Couple”, “The Fortune Cookie” and “Grumpy Old Men”.

The screenplay also written by Richard Linklater is very well written with characters that are unforgettable and also you identify with them from the minute the movie starts to the end which I think is really important in a movie like this one.

I must say that this is by far Linklater´s most ambitious movie of his career because of the cast that he had at his disposal, which all three actors are Academy Award Nominees. 

Steve Carrell`s performance is one of the most complete I have seen in his career. You really feel and care about his character as well as for Bryan Cranston`s and Laurence Fishburne. The three form a magnificent combination and the results do payoff.

This is by far the movie I have enjoyed the most of Richard Linklater`s career since “Dazed and Confused” which I consider his masterpiece.

Hopefully “Last Flag Flying” is a contender for next year´s awards season. Not only because of Linklater`s writing and directing, but as well as the performances from the cast.

“Last Flag Flying” is one of the year´s best film and I highly recommend it.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Barry Keoghan, Bill Camp and Alicia Silverstone.

Rating: Very Good

Academy Award Director Nominee Yorgos Lanthimos who brought us last year´s “The Lobster” works again with Colin Farrell in “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and again he delivers very good and intense results.

The movie tells the story of Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) a successful surgeon who enjoys his life with his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and his two children Kim (Raffey Cassidy) and Bob (Sunny Suljic).

Steven has a strong relationship with a teenage boy named Martin (Barry Keoghan) who he will eventually introduce to his family.

Everything will change for Steven when he begins to notice Martin´s strange behavior and begins to torment his family with a serious of events, which will involve a sacrifice.

Now Steven will have to play a game of cat and mouse with Martin that will involve in making the proper choices that will drive Steven to a downward spiral.

One of the things that really worked in “The Killing of A Sacred Deer” was the originality of the film itself.

Yorgos Lanthimos again wrote a brilliant screenplay with unique characters. Like in “The Lobster” it was very clear that Lanthimos did a lot of research, specially in dealing with issues that have to do with psyche of people and how you are able to manipulate people.

His direction was very sharp and the performances by Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman were top of the notch. The one who I was very impressed with his performance was Barry Keoghan, who played Martin in the film. He is terrifying and you believe his performance from the beginning to the end of the film.

The cinematography by Thimios Bakatakis was really good. The use of the long shots and cranes that he used for this film work and create that tension of the movie and you are in that space with the characters.

I could tell that Lanthimos had influences of movies like “The Shining” and “Funny Games” since both movies deal with insanity and the limits of how far a person can go in order to reach their goal or goals.

The only problem that I observed in “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer” that I observed was the timing and the pacing of the film. I believe that the movie with a shorter length would have worked as well but it didn´t bother me but for some people I could see that this could be a problem.

Yorgos Lanthimos´s film have the tendency to be slow paced but they are engaging and he is a filmmaker that you are not going to feel any indifference towards his work.

Lanthimos made another winner with “The Killing of A Sacred Deer” and it really payed off. 

Before you watched this film I strongly suggest to watch “The Lobster” first so you can understand Yorgos Lanthimo`s style in filmmaking. Although both of his films are completely different but at the same time they both have some similarities.

With that being said “The Killing of A Sacred Deer” is one frightening thriller and one of the best movies of this year.

Thor:Ragnarok

By Emilio Frenk 

Director: Taika Waititi

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idrid Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taika Waititi, Clancy Brown, Ray Stevenson, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins.

Rating: Excellent.

Taika Waitit, director of “What We Do In The Shadows” and “Hunt for The Wilderpeople” brings “Thor: Ragnarok” his most ambitious film till this day and brings very good and entertaining results.

This third part again centers in Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who is imprisoned by the the fire demon Surtur. Eventually he escapes and  visits his ailing father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who tells him about his firstborn daughter Hela (Cate Blanchett) who has a personal vendetta agains the people from Asgard and wants to destroy it.

Now Thor will have to join forces with his brother and nemesis Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to stop her.

The problem is that Thor is again captured by The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) and forces Thor to fight The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). They will collide with each other but then will join forces to go to Asgard and stop Hela. Thor will be in a  run against  time to save Asgard from Hela before it´s too late.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is one entertaining film from the beginning to end and it´s so far one of the best Marvel Comics movies that I have seen in the big screen.

This is thanks to the screenplay written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost who wrote with a lot of wit and originality. Also there was a lot of comedy involved that really helped the movie and made it even funnier.

Another thing that really works for this third installment of Thor is that is the first time that we see that not everything is easy for the superhero and we don´t see him depending so much in his hammer which happened in the first two films and The Avengers movies.

Here Thor we see him as a very unique and human character but at the same time with a lot of conflict and struggle inside of him that made it special.

The action sequences when he fights against The Hulk are really well made and the visuals in this movie were really good.

Taika Waititi not only did a great job in directing a very good visual experience but the cast delivered outstanding performances, specially Cate Blanchett who portrays Hela who is fantastic as always.

Like I mentioned previously this is by far one the Marvel Comics movies that I have enjoyed the most and this proves my point that Marvel Comic films have been superior than DC and this is because not only they care about production value but they care about story, which at the end of the day is what really makes a movie special.

Chris Hermworth as Thor again is fantastic and very funny in this picture. This is one of the things that surprised me the most since his portrayal as Thor in the previous film has been very intense.

 I loved the visuals of this film and the fact that despite is a movie that is 2 Hours you donn´t feel that is long, On the contrary it goes very fast and that I think is a factor why the movie makes even more entertaining.

I knew that the movie was going to be entertaining but I never thought that it surpassed my expectations and it did. The screenplay was very good and the story was very special.

This were the factors that made me enjoy it more. Waititi´s direction was impeccable and I love all the camera work he did in this film and hopefully we can see him directing another movie of this caliber.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is fun, entertaining and you won´t be disappointed when you watch this film. One piece of advice before you watch it is that in case if you haven´t seen the first two it´s very important so you can get the storyline of this film.

A Bad Moms Christmas

By Emilio Frenk. 

Directors: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Hernández, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony, Ariana Greenblatt, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, Peter Gallagher and Susan Sarandon.

Rating: Poor.

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn are back in the second part of 2016`s comedy hit “Bad Moms” with “A Bad Moms Christmas” and like the title of the film this was bad.

This sequel again tells the story of Amy (Mila Kunis) a divorced mother who takes care of her kids Jane (Oona Laurence) and Dylan (Emjay Anthony)  and has a strong relationship with her boyfriend Jessie (Jay Hernández) and his daughter Lori (Ariana Greenblat).

Amy is stressed because Christmas is around the corner and wants to make it special for her kids. At the same time her friends Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) are dealing with their issues.

The three are still being very close but everything will change when Amy´s mother Ruth (Christine Baranski) shows up out of the blue. Kiki has the same issue with her mother Sandy (Cheryl Hines) and Carla as well with her mother Isis (Susan Sarandon).

Now Amy, Kiki and Carla will be in a race against time to make this holiday a special one not only for their kids but for their mother´s as well.

The major problem that I saw in “A Bad Moms Christmas” was the fact that the screenplay this time lacked of timing and comedy, which the first film had and it really worked. Here there were moments that they were laughable but they were too obvious and predictable.

Both Jon Lucas and Scott Moore failed in making this sequel more enjoyable and by moments it was very redundant.

I liked the chemistry between Kunis, Bell and Hahn and it´s the only thing that really worked for the film.

I think that this sequel was completely unnecessary since the first film was very entertaining and has a very special message towards acceptance and love to your young ones regardless of how the behave.

Here yes it takes place in Christmas but I feel bad that actors like Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines and Peter Gallagher were completely useless and they were everything but funny.

The script from beginning to end was predictable and the use of voiceover in the beginning of the film was completely useless.

I was expecting “A Bad Moms Christmas” to be a better film compared to the first one or at least enjoyable.

This was not the case and I advice you to only see the first one. This is a complete waste of time and it´s not enjoyable.

“A Bad Moms Christmas” is one of the year´s worst films and I cannot recommend it due to it´s poor directing, writing and performances.

Thank You For Your Service

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Jason Hall

Cast: Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Joe Cole Beulah Koale, Erin Drake, Scot Haze, Omar J. Dorsey and Amy Schumer.

Rating: Very Good.

Academy Award Nominee Jason Hall, writer of 2014´s “American Sniper” makes his directorial debut with “Thank You For Your Service” and the results of this film are totally satisfying.

Based on the novel by David Finkel of the same name the movie tells the true story of Sgt. Adam Schumann (Miles Teller) who returns from Iraq with his friend Solo (Beulah Kole). Both of them encounter with their families.

Everything is good with Adam when he returns with his wife Saskia (Haley Bennett) and his two daughters until he begins to suffer from PTSD, something that is very common from soldiers to suffer when they return from the war.

The same happens with Solo with his wife Alea (Keisha Castle-Hughes) who is expecting a child.

Now both soldiers and friends will have to seek help in order to get their lives in order before they suffer a serious breakdown and can ultimately cause the destruction of their families for good.

“Thank You For Your Service” it´s a movie that when I watched it I didn´t know what it was going to be about and that is one of the reasons why I did enjoy it the most.

Jason Hall not only directed a very good movie but wrote a fantastic screenplay that digs all the way into PTSD.

The movie did reminded me of “American Sniper” which tells the story of Chris Kyle and how he suffered from PTSD after returning with his family. Here I do think that Hall got more personal and the movie delivers at all levels.

Like he did with “Only The Brave”, Miles Teller gives a top of the notch performance here. He portrays Schumman in a very convincing way that we feel for him at all times, even when he begins to suffer from PTSD.

Hall wrote very good characters with so much depth and all levels of conflict that care about them.

This type of movies can have the tendency of being slow but this was not the case and I do believe that the length was totally accurate for the film.

I liked that Jason Hall just told the essential parts with “Thank You For Your Service” and his directing did payoff.

Not only he directed very good sequences that involved the war but the drama was very good and the case delivered.

I was surprised on seeing Amy Schumer in a serious role here, when normally we are used to see her in comedic roles. Here she did a very good job and she can also do serious roles.

The editing of the film was very good, the cinematography as well. I liked the way the contrasts were played in this film when Teller´s character is both in Iraq and with his family and the dark sides that were reveled.

The score by Thomas Newman again is outstanding and the way how the music cues were used worked at all times.

Miles Teller is without a doubt a talented actor and hopefully he can maintain this level.

“Thank You For Your Service” is one of the biggest surprises of this year and I highly recommend it.

Suburbicon

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: George Clooney

Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac, Noah Jupe, Glenn Fleshler, Megan Ferguson, Jack Conley, Gary Basaraba and Michael D. Cohen

Rating: Poor.

Academy Award Winner George Clooney brings his 6th film behind the camera and he does with “Suburbicon” and this is one major disappointment.

Set in the 50´s the movie tells the story of Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) a family man that lives in the quite neighborhood of “Suburbicon”.

One night his family will suffer a break in from two robbers when they break in to his home and kill his wife Rose (Julianne Moore).

Now Rose´s twin sister Margaret (Julianne Moore) will move in with his brother in law to take care of his son Nick (Noah Jupe).

Eventually things will come up on regards of Rose´s mother when one day Bud Cooper (Oscar Isaac) an insurance investigator comes to do his work in regards of what really happened in regards of Rose´s murderer.

Now Gardner will need to cover his tracks since he is a suspect or he will be history.

The thing that I disliked the most of “Suburbicon” was the story itself. The movie was all over the place and this was in the writing.

I am very surprised since two of the writers where both Joel and Ethan Coen, who are remarkable filmmakers and of course George Clooney and Grant Heslov who normally do deliver good quality in the film but this time all four failed and badly.

One of the worst mistakes is to mix up to plots in the movie and this was the case. In one hand Clooney showed an African American family who moved to a white neighborhood and the other was the murder mystery.

It is clear that George Clooney wanted to do a political statement with this movie but it failed and badly. 

Again when you have more than 3 writers in a project the chances are that is going to fail and the result in this film speaks for itself.  

Clooney should have focused in only one subject matter and perhaps we would have been talking of another film here.

Clooney´s directing was all over the place and the performances of the cast where not convincing, except for Noah Jupe who portrays Damon´s son in the movie that he is the most decent one.

This movie had potential to be a very good movie since George Clooney not only is a great actor, but also a very good filmmaker. We have seen it in movies like “Goodnight and Good Luck”, “The Ides of March” and “Confeesions of a Dangerous Mind” where the cast on this movie delivered outstanding performances.

Just like he did with “The Monuments Men”, Clooney did´t learn from his mistakes and unfortunately the product he delivered here was very mediocre.

The pacing was very slow and honestly I couldn´t care less about the characters, in fact when it was the half of the second act I wanted it to be over.

Visually is a very good movie and the cinematography from Robert Elswit was really good. The lightning was good and it was the only thing that Clooney focused in this picture.

Hopefully this is a learning experience for George Clooney and hopefully he can deliver a good movie.

“Suburbicon” is one of the biggest disappointments of this year and I cannot recommend it for it´s dumb screenplay and the way the story was told in a very predictable manner.

Only The Brave

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Cast: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Andie MacDowell, James Badge Dale, Geoff Stults, Alex Russell, Thad Luckinbill, Ben Hardy, Scott Haze, Jake Picking, Scott Fox, Dylan Kenin, Taylor Kitsch and Jennifer Connelly.

Rating: Very Good.

Joseph Kosinski, director of “Tron: Legacy” and “Oblivion” brings “Only The Brave”, his third film under his belt and delivers a very good movie.

Based on true events from the article “No Exit” by GQ Magazine the movie tells the story of Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) a local firefighter from Arizona that recruits an elite group of men that risk their lives to protect their town from any fires.

They will call themselves “The Granite Mountain Hotshots”. This is a story of courage and how they risk their lives on “The Yarnell Fire”, which is considered one of the most deadly in American History.

“Only The Brave” is a good acting movie and this is thanks to the directing of Joseph Kosinski. Here Kosinski showed men that have all levels of conflict but at the same time as a member of an audience you fill for them at all times.

One very good performance of this movie besides Josh Brolin and Jeff Bridges is Miles Teller. I liked the way he performed a character that was a slacker and his arc works at all levels.

Teller is an actor that has had some up´s and down´s in his career but when he portrays characters like in this film, indeed he can deliver. This proof has been since 2014´s “Whiplash” which till this day was the movie that launched his career.

The screenplay by both Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer gets a lot into detail and honestly I didn´t had any idea of what this movie was going to be about.

I never heard of this group of really brave men and the way how the story was brought to the screen was remarkable.

Seeing it from the trailers back in September, I was very skeptical towards the movie and I had serious prejudgments towards it. I thought that it was going to be the typical cliché movie that we have seen before, but this was not the case.

Yes, there are some cliché moments but they didn´t bother me at all and I was very surprised with this film.

I still believe the movie could have had a shorter length but I understand why Joseph Kosinski decided to be this way and it was the correct way.

I liked the fact that there wasn´t too much backstory in the characters which can damage a movie if you reveal to much and this was of course thank to the smart writing that was involved.

“Only The Brave” is a movie that it should be an example for people who risk their lives when they are on duty and is inspiring.

It´s a very well acted movie, very well edited and Kosinski brought a fantastic direction towards it.

“Only The Brave” is one big surprise and I highly recommend it.

The Snowman

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jonas Karlsson, Michael Yates, Val Kilmer, Tobby Jones, James D´Arcy, Chloë Sevigny and J.K. Simmons.

Rating: Poor.

Tomas Alfredson, director of 2011´s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”  brings another thriller with “The Snowman” and I have to say that his movie is a total mess.

Based on the novel by Jo Nesbø the movie takes place in Oslo, Norway and tells the story of Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) an alcoholic divorced detective that one day receives a mysterious note with clues.

Those clues will relate to the disappearance of a girl, whose scarf is wrapped around a creepy snowman.

The serial killer with the clues begins to play a game of cat and mouse with Hole and he will team up with detective Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson) to solve this case.

Now both Hole and Bratt will try to stop the killer before it´s too late and continues his killing spree and tries to lead Hole into a downward spiral that can lead him to insanity.

The thing that really surprised me on how bad “The Snowman” is was the directing by Tomas Alfredson. I´m saying surprised because he did an outstanding job with “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” making it one of the best of 2011, leading to an Academy Award Nomination for Gary Oldman.

Here the major problem is the fact that he directed a very poor screenplay written by Peter Straughan, Hossein and Søren Sveistrup which lead to a complete mess and for moments the movie was confusing.

From the minute the first clue of the film was reveled I stopped caring about the film and I felt that it was a complete waste of time.

The plot doesn´t make any sense and involves also things are more in the political side that I don´t feel that has anything to do with the movie whatsoever.

Michael Fassbender and Rebecca Ferguson did the best they could with their performances. Both of them are really good actors and will try to deliver. The problem is that this type of caliber actors there are going to be limited when there is a bad screenplay and this is the example of it.

J.K. Simmons character who plays someone who has a lot of influence in the Norwegian community I didn´t buy his performance and it´s a shame since he´s an actor that I really respect and admire but he was completely wasted and useless in this role.

The movie was too long and Alfredson´s directing was all over the place. He focused more in the visuals of the film, which are the only thing to acknowledge in this film.

This by far is one of the worst movies I have seen in the thriller genre. All movies regardless of the genre have to be engaging but this one has it needs to be even more since the tension is a factor here.

I didn´t see any moments of tension or fear in this film and it became so predictable. From the moment the second act of this film started it was obvious who the really serial killer is and they illustrated in one of the most stupid was ever.

It´s a shame for Tomas Alfredson who knows how to direct a film of this caliber didn´t deliver and hopefully this can be a learning experience.

The Snowman” is one of the worst movies of this year and I cannot recommend it.

Geostorm

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Dean Devlin

Cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Eugenio Derbez, Zazie Beets,  Richard Schiff, Robert Sheehan, Daniel Wu, Ed Harris and Andy García.

Rating: Poor.

Dean Devlin makes his directorial debut with a disaster movie called “Geostorm” and brings unfortunate results.

The movie tells the story of Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) a satellite designer who is the creater of “Dutch Boy”, a system that can control satellites that control climate on all the globe.

After a series of events, Jake is fired by his own brother Max (Jim Sturgess) who happens to work in the White House under the orders of the Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom (Ed Harris).

Three Years later a village in Afganistan gets frozen and it´s believed that is a glitch that Dutch Boy suffered.

Max will seek for his brother´s help to fix the problem. At the beginning Jake refuses but then he accepts to help his brother.

Now both Jake and Max are in a race against time to fix the problem with Dutch Boy before it´s too late and can bring the world into an end.

“Geostorm” like I mentioned previously is a complete mess and this is thanks to the screenplay that Dean Devlin and Paul Guyot wrote.

The movie doesn´t make any sense at all and this is because it combined two plots and again this is a very dangerous tool.

I could tell from the beginning that this movie was not going into the right direction and like most of this kind of movies normally it doesn´t. I understand that they could be entertaining but this one crossed the line and it was a mess.

Dean Devlin´s directing was all over the place and the way he wrote his characters was anything but convincing.

I saw some elements of movies from Roland Emerich, who directed “Independence Day” and “2012”. But those movies entertained despite of being bad.

I had the feeling that I was going to see a bad film but at least I wanted some moments to be entertained.

I was never convinced with Gerard Butler´s characters and the way how he talks in this film. The same with Andy García, on portraying the President of The United States.

The only good character in this film is Ed Harris`s but let´s face it even if the movie is bad, he will always deliver. But again with a cast like this is very difficult for them to deliver and this of the poor material that it´s involved.

The voice over from the beginning and end of the film doesn´t make any sense at all and honestly I couldn´t care either less.

“Geostorm” is by far one of the worst movies of this year and please do not waste your time and money with this piece of trash directed by Dean Devlin, which I hope he writes better material in the future and directs it properly.

Goodbye Christopher Robin

By Emilio Frenk. 

Director: Simon Curtis

Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Will Tilston, Kelly Macdonald, Richard McCabe, Stephen Campbell Moore, Alex Lawther and Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Rating: Very Good.

Simon Curtis, director of 2015´s “Woman in Gold” brings “Goodbye Christopher Robin” a drama that brings very interesting results.

Based on true events the movie tells the story of Alan Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) a successful English writer who suffers constantly from experiences that he lived while he was fighting for his country in World War I.

Him and his wife Daphne (Margot Robbie) decide to move from London to the countryside with their newborn Christopher Robin and her eventually nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald).

Alan will create the stories that are related to his son´s imagination of his toys specially his teddy bear which he will name Winnie.

That´s how Alan will find inspiration of creating “Winnie The Pooh”, the series of books that became one of the most important children´s book till this day and a huge phenomenon.

One of the things that I really liked of “Goodbye Christopher Robin” is the mood of the picture, and the performances Domhnall Gleeson and Margot Robbie who have given the best so far of their careers.

With this the movie has a great screenplay written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Simon Vaughan who showed a side of Alan Milne that we didn´t know.

I loved the fact how we show a man who still has PTSD and an internal struggle with himself due to the experiences that he lived during the war.

I loved how the movie got in detail and told the necessary since this kind of movies have the tendency of being slow paced. This was not the case here.

The performance of young Will Tilston, who plays Christopher Robin is very convincing and I believe this boy has a future if he continues in this path.

Simon Curis´s directing was sharp and his actors gave very convincing performances. He was really smart on telling from Alan Milne´s point of view.

When I walked in the theater I barely knew what the movie was going to be about. I knew the basics that it was about the author of “Winnie The Pooh” that was pretty much it. I really enjoyed and I was pleased with the film.

The message of this movie is powerful and I was very moved from the film when I watched it.

The climatic scene when Alan Milne is with his grown up son is very well written and is one of the scenes that I have been touched.

I love the fact that this movie doesn´t get into cheesy or cliché moments and it works at all levels.

“Goodbye Christopher Robin” is one the surprises of this year and I highly recommend it for the performances, screenplay and Simon Curtis`s directing.